


i won't smile, but i'll show you my teeth

by sammyforthewin



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caroline Forbes-centric, Gen, No Humanity Caroline Forbes, alluding to abuse, anti most of the characters, dark!Caroline, no but seriously if youre looking for a fic that is nice to everyone dont read this, there isn't really a timeline for this lol, this turned out darker than i intended
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25121509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammyforthewin/pseuds/sammyforthewin
Summary: She’s come a long way from the innocent pageant girl - her ball gown is a little bloodier these days.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	i won't smile, but i'll show you my teeth

**Author's Note:**

> There is no timeline or particular season that this fic takes place in, other than a generic "early season" era. This is because 1) fuck canon and 2) I can't remember what seasons things happen in lol. To avoid any confusion, I'll try and explain some of what's going on. The gang knows about ripper!stefan, Caroline is already a vampire, Elena is not a vampire, Bonnie is still a very powerful witch, and Tyler left Mystic Falls. I know this all happens at some point in canon, but I have no clue if they all occur at the same time. Anyway, hope that spares any confusion.
> 
> Title inspo from Halsey's song Nightmare.

It’s easy at first, taking someone’s life. Killing has never been on Caroline Forbes’ to do list, but she is nothing if not flexible. She’s come a long way from the innocent pageant girl - her ball gown is a little bloodier these days. But it’s fine, she tells herself. When you don’t feel anything, it’s all fine. 

\--

It starts (it ends) like this. Caroline comes home from school, not surprised that the house is empty. She does her homework, she cooks dinner, and she only starts getting worried when two hours have gone by.

Then the call comes.

It’s one of Liz’s deputies, and he sounds apologetic. There’s been an accident, he tells her. Car wreck. It was just an accident, no foul play, no  _ supernatural _ play, just a deer that came out of nowhere, a large tree, and bad luck. 

Elizabeth Forbes died on impact, he tells her so sorrowfully. Elizabeth Forbes died.

\--

They have a small funeral, and Elena holds her hand the whole time. Stefan is a comforting presence at her shoulder, but she doesn’t really want comfort right now. Bonnie watches her with worried eyes, and she’s sure Damon is there somewhere - Liz was his friend, after all - but she couldn’t give a damn to try and find him. 

The police sendoff is lovely. Caroline stares at the ground the whole time.

\--

She thinks,  _ Tyler is lost to the wind. _ She thinks,  _ my friends have so many of their own problems. _ She thinks,  _ I’m an orphan now. _

Mystic Falls has been her home her whole life, but for once, she doesn’t feel like she belongs.

\--

It’s midnight. It hurts so much. She’s clutching a wine glass filled with stolen bourbon (she doesn’t know where the tumblers are, she doesn’t fucking care) like her life depends on it, forgets for a second that her strength is more than human, gasps as the glass shatters.

(Elena stops her as she leaves the Salvatore’s, Damon’s stolen alcohol clinking between them.

“Caroline,” she looks at the bottle with concern, “do you want some company?” The intention is nice, but Caroline can see Elena’s eyes flickering back to the house like she’s distracted - she’s always distracted - so she murmurs a no and leaves before Elena can say anything else.

She’s almost disappointed that Elena doesn’t follow.)

Caroline watches as the cuts in her skin heal as quickly as they appeared. She has eternity to live like this. Well, she has eternity to be dead like this. 

That’s such a depressing thought that Caroline throws the bourbon bottle at the wall, so it also shatters, and she closes her eyes, so she doesn’t. 

It doesn’t help. 

\--

Damon tells her that the funeral isn’t the hard part. It’s the days afterward, when she’s alone in an empty house with nothing, not even the sound of a heartbeat.

She hates that he’s right.

\--

One day, there’s a knock on the door. She’s stopped answering calls, doesn’t really pay attention when the school leaves voicemails about her lack of attendance, doesn’t leave the house unless she’s running out of blood bags.

She reluctantly opens the door. Damon and Stefan are standing there, Stefan looking sheepish, Damon looking completely unbothered. 

They get right to the point. “We need your he-” Stefan starts.

“No.” She is not acting out an idiotic plan. She is not playing bait for a big bad. She is not sacrificing herself for Elena. She’s grieving.

Stefan spends a few minutes trying to explain the situation, petering off when he realizes that Caroline is just staring at him, almost through him, and clearly tuning him out.

Damon, who is not one for patience, claps his hands loudly. “Okayyyy,” he drawls. “Now we’re doing this my way. Come on, Blondie.” He tries to step into the house, but Caroline keeps the doorway blocked. 

He continues on with his speech, unperturbed. “We’ve got work to do, another big bad to take care of, and that is a great way to get your mind off things. Really helps the grieving process along.”

He nods to himself, like he just gave some very sage advice, and next to him, Stefan opens his mouth, probably to tell Damon off for being so blunt.

She smiles widely before Stefan can say anything and channels her sweetest Miss Mystic Falls voice. “You’re so right, Damon. I do need to take my mind off things.” 

And there’s that signature smirk, Damon already gloating about his tough love doing what Stefan’s earnestness couldn’t. 

“Things like the people who are supposed to be my friends - not that you’re really a friend, Damon - not respecting my boundaries and grieving process by dragging me into another suicide mission. Things like the people who are supposed to care about me knocking on my door when my mother died not even a month ago and not bothering with even a fucking hello, how are you? I think I’m going to go take my mind off that now.” 

She slams the door in two surprised faces, and locks it for good measure, not that it would do any good. The owner of the house is dead, they have vampire strength, and her mom would have invited them in anyway.

And how funny is that? Her mom inviting in the man that used and abused her? How funny is it that they were totally great friends? The vampire-hating sheriff, and the vampire that fucked her daughter. Two peas in a pod. Or a coffin. She falls to the floor, laughing so hysterically that were she human, she’d be gasping for breath. Tears come unbidden to her eyes, and she honestly can’t tell if they’re from laughter or pain. 

Caroline sits on the floor of her dead mother’s house and laughs and cries, until she’s not laughing anymore and just crying.

\--

_ So, this is my breaking point _ , she thinks.

_ I don’t want to feel this anymore _ , she thinks.

And then, magically, she doesn’t. 

\--

The tears stop. She looks down at her raggedy sweatpants with distaste and decides she needs a different outfit and a snack. Caroline gets up, absently dusts herself off, and heads upstairs to change.

_ I did need to do something, _ she muses,  _ to get my mind off things. _

If she cared, she’d be pissed that Damon was right again.

\--

There’s nothing left in the kitchen, and Caroline is thirsty. She wants blood. There are people all over town that are full of it. Simple as that.

So she goes out and she finds someone walking alone, and she eats until she’s full. She idly wonders if she should stop, if there will be consequences for this later, but then she remembers that she doesn’t give a shit. The body of Mr. Random Mystic Falls Resident gets shoved into a dumpster.

It was so easy. No one ever suspects girly little Caroline. Her blonde hair and blue eyes and permanent 17 face really sell the innocence. Pity to anyone that falls for it.

She goes to wipe her hands of gross dumpster-ness but realizes at the last minute that the shirt she’s wearing is actually pretty nice. Clean up will make her a lot dirtier than she wants to be. Just this once, she decides, she’ll be that messy, and then never again.

Caroline may have flipped that pesky little switch, but she still hates being dirty.

\--

After that, Caroline has some fun. There is no shortage of high school parties in Mystic Falls, and there’s certainly no shortage of alcohol. 

She texts Elena and Bonnie that she needs some time to herself and thinks that should be sufficient enough for them to leave her alone, especially when they’re dealing with some supernatural problem. 

Caroline gets drunk in the woods, night after night, and takes pleasure in leading guys away, letting them think they’re in control. She’s more careful when she feeds and tries not to get blood everywhere. Blood does not look cute. 

This time she’s got a guy named Brandon. He’s a football player from the next town over, and she thinks he’s a quarterback. Or maybe a receiver? She wasn’t really listening. She pushes him against a tree, relishing in the surprised look on his face at her display of strength. 

She steps closer and licks her lips seductively for good measure. His heartbeat picks up nicely in excitement, and whatever he was about to say - likely something annoying about offensive strategies - gets forgotten. He’s going to taste so good.

Making out with Brody - Brandon, whatever - isn’t half bad. But that’s not what she came here for. Caroline leans back and looks Brandon in the eyes. “Be quiet.”

She trails kisses down his neck, and lets her monster out, anticipating the gush of blood when she bites down.

“Caroline!”

Ugh. It’s Elena.

She sighs and looks at Brandon again. “Go back to the party and forget that you saw me tonight.” 

Elena waits until the guy has walked dazedly away before she turns back to Caroline. “What are you doing?”

“I thought that was pretty obvious.”

Elena blinks. “That’s not what I - Care, this isn’t like you. You know better than to feed from people.”

Okay, she so does not want to deal with a morality speech from Elena right now. “He would have been fine. It’s not like I was gonna kill him. I just wanted a snack.” She shrugs for good measure, and idly wishes she had ignored Elena and fed anyway. She was actually pretty thirsty. 

“Caroline, this is wrong! I know you’re upset and grieving, but we’re here for you, okay? We can help you out with this stuff. Besides, you have the strongest control of any vampire I know. Don’t lose that control by getting lost in your grief.”

Caroline surprises Elena yet again and lets out a laugh. There’s nothing humorous in it. “This isn’t me losing control.” She takes a menacing step forward and smirks as Elena involuntarily steps back. “I know exactly what I’m doing. And I suggest you stay out of it.” 

She turns to leave, but Elena’s voice calls out yet again. “You turned off your humanity, didn’t you?” She sounds sad.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Caroline says, but it sounds unconvincing. The cat’s already out of the bag at this point.

Now Elena sounds teary. “There was a body found in a dumpster downtown. Stefan thought that another vampire might have come through. He actually started looking around, but...” Her voice turns whisper quiet. “Was that you?”

Caroline finally turns around, her face a picture of innocence. “Oh, Elena. I would  _ never _ .” She pouts her lips for good measure, and then let’s the mask drop as quickly as it was put on. She’s suddenly right in front of Elena, who doesn’t even get the chance to gasp. “Now I suggest you leave. Me. Alone. All of you. Or you’ll regret it.”

There’s beat of silence, and Caroline steps back, sunshine smile back in place. “OMG, my buzz is totally gone. I think I’m gonna get another beer. You look pretty shaken up, though. Maybe you should go home?”

She smirks as she walks away from a gaping Elena, heading back towards the sounds of teenage stupidity. She does a half-wave over her shoulder. “Wouldn’t want anyone to get worried.”

\--

Caroline thought that probably wouldn’t be the end of it. That’s why she decided to initiate this meeting, and she finally tells Elena where she is, after a few days of laying low. Bonnie and Stefan are with her.

A bitter part of her would have been surprised that they even bothered, but feeling bitter is still feeling, so. No crying over spilt milk, and all that. Besides, she needs to say to this to all of them, and Caroline could never pass up a three-for-one sale.

“Hey guys!” She waves her perfectly manicured nails.

They’re all frowning, which is not a good look if Bonnie and Elena don’t want wrinkles. Stefan’s always frowning, but vampires don’t age, so it doesn’t really matter what he does. 

Bonnie steps forward and hesitantly takes her hand, like that’s supposed to do something. Caroline lets her.

“You know, we looked everywhere for you. You weren’t at your house. We were worried.”

Caroline scoffs. “Of course I wasn’t at my house. My mom owned it, and she’s dead, which means any vampires can just waltz right in. You’ll forgive me for not wanting to deal with that.”

Stefan grimaces, and it could be because she’s being so flippant about her mom’s death or because he’s remembering his and Damon’s horrible Get Caroline Out of the House plan. Who knows?

She doesn’t give anyone else the chance to say anything. “Moving on! I just wanted to get you all here to make something very clear. I mean, I already told Elena, but repetition really helps the message stick.” She smiles with all her teeth. “I want to be left alone. I know you all, and I have no time for everyone trying to get me to feel things again. If you leave me alone, I won’t kill anyone. You bother me, you try to get me to flip the switch back? Bodies will drop.”

Her friends look a bit ill. Good. That means they’re actually listening.

Stefan sighs. “We know the body the police found in the dumpster was you. You’ve already killed someone, Caroline. We can’t exactly risk you going out and doing it again.”

She rolls her eyes. “Um, first of all, this wasn’t up for debate. These are non-negotiable terms. I don’t care what you want. And second, that’s rich coming from you, Stefan. I mean, seriously? You have so little control of yourself that you have to eat bunnies. You’ve killed hundreds of people throughout your life, but I kill one and I’m the bad guy? Typical.”

This time Elena is the one who talks, and she has that fierce look on her face that the old Caroline would have totally felt guilty about. “We’re not leaving you to deal with this alone, Caroline. We’re your friends, and we care about you. And that means getting you to turn your humanity back on, so you don’t do something you’ll regret.”

“Did you actually expect that to work?” Caroline rolls her eyes again. At this rate, they’ll get stuck like that. “The world doesn’t revolve around your expectations. The only thing I regret is thinking I could talk sense into you all.” She stands to leave. “I mean it. Back off, and we won’t have a reason to see each other, yeah?”

She doesn’t notice the looks the group of three exchange after she’s gone.

\--

Caroline passes a group of girls carrying shopping bags before she turns down a more secluded road, heading to the latest house she’s hijacked for the time being. As soon as she’s alone, she feels the sudden displacement of air that always accompanies the use of super-speed, and her hand tightens on what she’s holding in her purse.

She turns around and catches the hand reaching for her just as her own plunges forward.

Stefan gasps as a wooden stake digs right into his stomach. The needle full of vervain he was holding drops to the ground, and Caroline’s foot smashes it. He stumbles back in shock.

“You know, I’m not stupid. And you guys aren’t exactly slick.” She leans down to his level. “Be happy I put that through your stomach and not your heart.”

“Caroline…” He gasps.

She stands up and wipes nonexistent dust off her skirt. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

\--

For a few days, everything is quiet, and everyone thinks that perhaps Caroline is bluffing. There’s still no sign of her in her usual haunts, but at least nothing has happened.

Then the Salvatores open their door one fine, Sunday morning, and find a body lying on their steps. 

Her eyes are wide open, but not with an expression of fear like would be expected. Instead, she looks serene, peaceful even. The image is sort of ruined by the straight, bloody line across her throat, though. There’s a piece of paper sticking out of her shirt pocket.

Stefan looks broody and upset, but Damon looks more annoyed by the mess than anything. He gingerly steps closer to the body and picks up the note. Inside, there is a single line written in neat, concise script.

“I told you to leave me alone.” He reads aloud. “Well, I didn’t know Blondie had it in her.”

“I did.” Stefan mutters. “She offered us a deal to be left alone, but I was so sure that I could sneak up and vervain her, get her back to the dungeon, and fix this whole mess. Instead, this happened. I was stupid, and I underestimated her.”

“Don’t get all Broody Stefan on me. We all thought she was a blood-bag kind of gal.” He nudges the body with his toe, and his tone changes to one of confusion. “Except she didn’t eat this one.”

Stefan sighs. “She didn’t have to. Caroline was leaving us a message.”

Damon quirks an eyebrow, casually wiping off his shoe on the dead girl’s shirt. “Well, message received.”

\--

Caroline sits down next to Bonnie at lunch one day.

She drops her sandwich in surprise. “Caroline, what are you doing here?” she hisses. “We’re leaving you alone like you said.”

“I know, and I’m not killing anyone right now, am I? I was just bored.” 

“Isn’t there a better place to be bored? You’ve missed like a month and a half of school.”

Caroline giggles. “Well, the teachers don’t think that. In fact, I’m pretty sure they think I’ve been here the whole time and that I’m making all A’s.”

“Compulsion, really? Why are you even bothering? I wouldn’t think you’d care about grades right now.” Bonnie bites her lip, reminded of a time when all Caroline worried about was good grades and the next meetings for her four hundred different committees. And boys. Life was much simpler.

“You’re right, I don’t, but I have a reputation to maintain.” She winks, and for a moment it almost has the same energy as the old Caroline. “And like I said, I’m bored.” 

She perks up at something across the cafeteria. “Oooh, not bored anymore.” A hint of fangs peak out of her mouth when she stands up to leave. “Later, Bon.”

Bonnie opens her mouth to say something, maybe to stop Caroline from snacking on the guy she’s no doubt set her eyes on, but instead she silently watches Caroline walk away. 

She suddenly feels so very tired.

\--

The Grill is oddly quiet when Stefan walks in.

“If you’re thinking of knocking me out and dragging me somewhere where you can pry out all my little feelings, I wouldn’t. You’ll regret it.”

“I wasn’t,” Stefan says, and for a moment she’s impressed with his poker face. He sits on the stool next to her’s. “But I’m curious now. Why would I regret it?”

Caroline doesn’t even look up from where she’s studying her nails, just points vaguely to the corner, where there’s a girl staring at them eerily. She’s holding something against her neck, and it’s only because of Stefan’s enhanced sight that he can see the sharp blade hidden by pale fingers. “If I don’t get up and leave of my own free will, she slits her throat. And if I don’t do that in the next... say, 30 minutes or so, she slits her throat.”

Stefan looks around, suddenly realizing that they are the only people at the Grill even paying attention to that poor girl. “Caroline-”

She tsks. “They’re all compelled to ignore her.” She downs the rest of her beverage, no doubt also compelled from the bartender, and smiles at him. “It’s a wonder the things you can compel from people when you don’t care about the consequences.”

She turns to leave, and Stefan grabs her arm instinctively. The girl in the corner twitches, and he lets go just as fast. He shakes his head slightly, feigning shock, but from a hidden position behind the bar, Damon slowly backs away.

Caroline smirks. “Relax. As soon as I text her that I’m home, her compulsion wears off. Suzy, or whatever her name is, will be just fine.” Her eyes narrow and she leans in closer. “Of course, that’s only if I leave alone. I told you, Stefan, to stay away. After your display of heroism last time, I needed to take some precautions. You try something and that girl dies? That’s another one on you.”

With a smile, Caroline leaves in a rush of perfume and curls. Fifteen minutes after she’s gone, Stefan sees maybe-Suzy get a text and blink owlishly, looking down at the pocketknife in her hands like she doesn’t know where it came from.

\--

Damon sees her when she’s feeding on someone late one evening. 

The girl is slumped against the wall of the back of the Grill, eyes glazed over and not saying a word, just how Caroline likes it. “Want a taste?” she asks.

“No, actually.” Damon replies, sneering. “I’m not here for anything nearly as fun.”

“More for me.” She shrugs and goes back to her meal, except the girl isn’t slumped against the wall anymore.

Damon is holding her up, away from Caroline, as he says, “Go inside and bandage your neck. You got a nasty gash when you tripped and fell against the dumpster.” The girl goes inside.

“Hey,” Caroline pouts. “I wasn’t finished.”

“Too bad, Blondie. We’re having this conversation whether you want to or not. And don’t even think about staking me. I know your tricks now.”

The childish demeanor drops immediately. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Now what do you want?”

He crosses his arms. “What I want is for you to stop playing all these games, turn back on your humanity, and drop the Vampire Barbie act. Elena has been worried sick.”

Caroline laughs. “Do you think I care? I’ve been satisfied with the deal we all made, where you all fuck off as long as I don’t kill anyone. Well, I would be, if you and Stefan could drop the knight in shining armor routine. Then everything would be fine.”

“Fine? Nothing is fine! You’ve got half the town compelled, and the other half have bite marks all over their necks. You’ve done enough, Caroline. We’ve let you run around for the sake of your little deal, but you seem to forget that Stefan and I are older than you and therefore, stronger than you. You got him down when he wasn’t expecting it, but we’re not so stupid the second time around. I could drag you to the boarding house kicking and screaming, but I thought I’d give you the _courtesy_ of coming of your own free will.”

Caroline snorts. “Like you understand free will.” Her fingers tighten around what’s in her jacket pocket. “I would really hate to have to kill more people because you guys can’t take a hint.”

Damon’s eye narrow in at her pocket. “Got another wooden stake, Blondie? Try me. I’ve been rearing for a good fight, and I don’t drink rabbits like Stefan.”

“Not a stake,” Caroline smirks, holding up a metal cannister.

Damon laughs aloud. “Pepper spray? Really? I’m a vampire, not a creeper.”

Caroline full out grins. “Not pepper spray either,” she says gleefully, and then she squirts it right in Damon’s face.

He falls to the ground screaming as vervain burns across his front half. There’s the feeling of two hands on either side of his head, a squeezing wrench, and then nothing.

\--

When Damon wakes up, it’s to the same burning he felt before, except this time in more concentrated areas. He groggily looks down and realizes that his chest and arms are wrapped in vervain-soaked ropes. Great.

There’s a shuffling noise to his left, and there’s Caroline, sitting on some dusty chair, licking her fingers clean. There’s smudged blood around her mouth, like someone hastily tried to wipe it off.

“I know, I know.” She starts. “I totally look like a mess right now. Ugh. You guys are really good at being thorns in my side. I didn’t have time to clean up.”

Damon vaguely notices a bloody sneaker leading to a leg on the floor. The rest of the body is hidden by overturned tables. He guesses he’s in some kind of old storage room. He sniffs the air, and it smells musty and damp. Some old storage room in a basement, then. 

“Who’s that?” he mutters, twisting his still healing neck to gesture at the body.

Caroline hums. “Oh, that? That’s Bonnie. Well, was.”

Damon jerks against the ropes, previous grogginess forgotten. “You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t!”

She sits up and walks over to where the body is, picking it up so the head is visible. There’s a lot of blood, but the face is unmistakable. Bonnie’s eyes are open in surprise. Caroline lets the body slump after a few seconds, before plopping back on her chair like she didn’t just murder one of her best friends.

“Yep,” she replies, popping the ‘p’ with her red stained lips. “Totally did. It wasn’t personal or anything. I just need to get you and Stefan out of the way. And Bonnie, being a powerful witch and all, needed out of the equation, too, or else I’d have more trouble with you Salvatores.”

“You’ve really gone too far, Blondie.” The nickname is spit out like a curse. “I should have staked you that night at the carnival. Would have saved us all a lot of time.”

Caroline smiles coldly. “Well, you know what they say about hindsight. Anyway, you-” She comes up behind him and ties a gag around his mouth, also soaked in vervain. “-need to be quiet now.” She leans close to him, like she’s sharing a secret. “Stefan’s almost here.”

Caroline moves behind him, and he hears a gun cocking. Upstairs, there’s the unmistakable sound of a door that hasn’t been oiled in a long time opening.

He wants to shout, scream at Stefan to run, but the gag and the pain has left him able to do nothing but grunt and hiss.

Stefan comes walking down the stairs and through the door, hands already raised in a sign of surrender. Caroline must have discussed this little hostage scenario with him while Damon was still out, and he can only assume that Stefan is following a list of demands that makes this all easy for her. She’s always so particular like that.

“So nice of you to make it,” Caroline chirps, and then she pulls the trigger.

Stefan is pushed back with the force of the bullet hitting him right in the chest. At first, no one reacts, and Damon swears everything is happening in slow motion. Stefan looks at Caroline with betrayal, clutching his chest. Caroline walks out from behind Damon’s chair, surveying her handiwork. And then there’s some garbled sort of shouting. It takes Damon a moment to realize it’s him.

Stefan falls back against the stairs, and his skin turns a disgusting, veiny, gray. He’s not moving. Damon is still shouting, which Caroline ignores.

“Wooden bullets. Got them right from mom’s stash.” Caroline says to no one. She turns around to Damon. “Don’t look so angry. I gave you all plenty of chances. It was like, so simple. ‘Don’t. Bother. Caroline.’ Yet none of you could do it.” 

She walks closer, and ignores how Damon strains against the ropes, snarling at her. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. I had to take things into my own hands, as usual. Hey, tell Stefan I said hi when you get to the Other Side, kay?”

She rips his heart out.

\--

The blood on her hand is getting itchy as it dries, but Caroline needs to keep the bloody maniac look for the last person on her hit list. It will be so satisfying to cross off every name.

She knocks on the door, tears forming in her eyes.

Elena answers, looking surprised. Then she notices all the blood. “Caroline?!”

“I’ve done something horrible!” she sobs. “I didn’t mean to go this far! I just wanted to not feel the pain anymore. How could I do this?”

“Shhhh.” Elena says, nurturer that she is. “Come inside and we’ll get you cleaned up, okay?”

Caroline nods shakily, letting Elena pull her to the couch. “Alright, now tell me what happened. We can call Stefan, and he’ll help you out.”

Caroline sobs again and falls into Elena’s arms. “We can’t call him!” She cries.

“Yes, we can,” Elena soothes, rubbing her back. “You know he’ll forgive you. He’s been in your shoes, remember?”

“No, we really can’t!” Caroline lets the hysteria bleed out of her voice until she sounds cool and unaffected. “I killed him.”

Elena stiffens in her arms, and tries to pull away, but Caroline doesn’t let go. “I killed him. And Bonnie. And Damon. Stefan and Damon kept breaking the terms of our deal. I couldn’t just let them get away with it. And poor Bonnie. She was just a precaution.”

Elena shakes in Caroline’s arms, trying to pull away, but she’s no match for vampire strength. “Caroline,” she says shakily, “You – you didn’t. You couldn’t have – please, let me go.”

“Sorry.” Caroline replies, not sounding sorry at all. “But I did. And now I’m here to kill you.”

Before Elena can say anything else, Caroline shifts her position in their hug and bites down on Elena’s neck. She screams out, but the energy behind it is short lived, as she grows weaker and weaker with blood loss. Finally, she slumps against Caroline, who can’t hear a heartbeat anymore. Caroline pushes the body away and licks her lips of any remaining blood.

She stands up and goes to the bathroom, where she washes all the blood away in the sink. Her phone chimes with a text message, probably one of the girls asking if Caroline is coming to cheer today. She takes a moment to respond before she heads into Elena’s room, looking to borrow a shirt that’s not as bloody as her own.

She smiles at herself in the vanity’s mirror.

\--

(So, yeah. It’s easy at first, taking someone’s life. And then it gets easier.)

Caroline throws her old shirt in the trash, walks past the body in the living room, and goes to cheer practice.

**Author's Note:**

> i swear i didn't go into this planning to kill everyone. (also this is the first time I've written fanfic in years, and the first time for tvd, please go easy on me)


End file.
